Seagate has used Link_A_Media's Amber LM87800 controller and Toshiba Type C 19nm MLC NAND along with their own custom firmware to create the Seagate 600 series of SSDs. The components are very similar to Corsair's Neutron series of drives, it seems that the biggest difference is going to be in the functionality of the firmware. The first difference [H]ard|OCP spotted was in the efficiency of the drives, they pulled less power than their rivals and the Pro version sported enhanced endurance and power capacitors which will be very important to enterprise users. Check out the full review to see where they sit in the pack after the benchmarks were all completed.

"Seagate refreshes its line of consumer and enterprise SSDs with a new family of third-generation SSD products. We take a look at the consumer mainstream Seagate 600 and the enthusiast model, the Seagate 600 Pro. Will its LAMD Amber LM87800 controller, custom firmware, and Toshiba Type C 19nm MLC NAND make it a standout?"

Still featuring the Link_A_Media Devices LM87800 controller but with all new 22nm SK Hynix Synchronous NAND the refreshed Corsair Neutron SSD series just arrived on [H]ard|OCP's test bench. The refresh brings both good and bad attributes, while the 22nm NAND proves a little slower than the original 25nm it also brings a much lower price. That lower price paired with a 5 year warranty should make this drive attractive to users that are holding off on picking up an SSD because of fears that the drive will stop functioning in a few years, or who have a hard time spending well over $1/GB for storage.

"Corsair keeps pace with continuing innovation in the NAND market by switching from 25nm IMFT NAND to the rarely seen 22nm SK Hynix NAND. This NAND provides a lower price point and extra capacity. Today we take a look to see if the Neutron Series performance remains and how this new SSD build stacks up to the competition."

The new kid in the SSD controller wars is LAMD, or Link_A_Media which is paired with 256GB of IMFT 25nm NAND in the new Corsair Neutron SSD. [H]ard|OCP loved what they saw, the lowest recorded latency in their max read tests and their max write tests. This great result may not shock those of you who have encountered LAMD in the past, they have provided enterprise class products for a long time now, they are only new to the consumer/enthusiast market. Check out the next great SSD controller on the market, which will hopefully drive Indilinx, Intel and Sandforce to better their upcoming controllers.

"Corsair innovates as the first company to market a consumer LAMD controlled SSD. While the Corsair line currently utilizes both of the highest performing controllers on the market, the new LAMD controller has generated more than its fair share of interest, so we take a look and see how the newest entrant to the SSD realm fares."

We have certainly seen a lot of new versions of SSD controllers from companies well established in the market but there haven't been any new companies join the market until earlier this month. Corsair unveiled their new Neutron series of SSDs, featuring the new LM87800 controller from Link A Media. Both models contain a pair of Samsung DDR2-800 128MB DRAM cache for a total of 256MB of cache, the difference is in the flash, with the GXT sporting eight 32GB modules of Toshiba Toggle Mode 24nm NAND while the non-GTX model has sixteen 16GB modules of synchronous Micron 25nm NAND. Check out SSD Reviews article to see how that effects the performance.

"It is always an exciting time when a new controller makes it’s way on to the SSD scene. It is like seeing a new contender in any sporting event and predicting their success based on the balance of strength and inexperience. Our analysis today examines the new Link A Media (LAMD) 6Gbps controller found within the Corsair Neutron and Neutron GTX SSDs. Watch as the Neutron delivers a first round knockout."

First OCZ buys Indilinx, then LSI buys SandForce, and now for another acquisition:

You may recall Link_a_Media devices seemingly coming out of nowhere these past few weeks, releasing an SSD controller present in the new Corsair Neutron Series of devices, and scoring an award at Computex. Even though the new LAMD controller is brand new and largely untested, it has gotten enough traction to be scooped up by a larger company - in this case Hynix. Hynix is a big name in RAM devices. We frequently see Hynix RAM in our SSD reviews, and the parts also appear in much of the shipping DDR3 RAM. More to follow as news continues to flow (and especially once Corsair Neutron reviews start appearing).

Link_a_Media Devices has been around for a while, though not in the SSD market. They have previously made chips integral to Toshiba HDD's.

Last week during Computex, Corsair jointly announced a new SSD to their lineup. Their partnership was with Link_A_Media Devices (LAMD), and the new Corsair Neutron Series scooped up Tom Hardware's "Best of Computex 2012" award:

The LAMD press blast for this event included some additional technical specs:

What caught my eye was the "Enterprise-class proven firmware" part. If this is LAMD's first entry to market, how can they possibly have 'proven' anything, especially in the enterprise sector? If it wasn't for the lack of compression, I'd be inclined to think this was some sort of re-brand of SandForce tech. Clearly this is something to remain curious about as more information is disclosed.

Today at Computex, Corsair announced a new line of SSDs. This 4th generation line will sport a new controller made by Link_A_Media Devices (LAMD). Their announcement boasts a System On a Chip (SoC) design, but that's the way most modern SSD controllers are architected. The new controller has the following claimed specs:

Neutron (Standard):

90,000 read / 85,000 write IOPS (assumed 4k random)

555MB/s read / 370MB/s write (sequential)

Neutron GTX:

90,000 read/write IOPS (assumed 4k random)

555MB/s read / 500MB/s write (sequential)

Here's a few quick pics:

The drives meet all of the typical SSD wickets, such as TRIM support and a generous 5-year warranty. The specs do look very good, but the proof is in the benches, which we hope to see shortly.